Taggart Farm.
Located at the edge of Poho County, right next to East Route 9.
The endless sorghum fields on the farm sway like golden waves under the gentle breeze, surrounded by tranquility.
"Billy, tie up the third scarecrow! After you finish, come back for dinner."
The rough shout of his father Jack came from the distant farmhouse.
The young Billy hugged a scarecrow wrapped with black cloth strips, struggling to breathe as he lifted it and fixed it onto the cross.
"Make sure the other two are tied tight. I don't want them blown away by strong winds."
His father Jack's reminders kept coming.
"Yeah!"
Billy wiped the sweat off his forehead, responding impatiently.
"Caw! Caw!"
His shouts startled a few crows perched on the other two scarecrows.
He shook his head helplessly. "These things are useless."
"Billy! Did you break the drill again!"
His father Jack's angry voice returned once more.
"No, I didn't!"
Billy shouted loudly, feeling even more annoyed.
He hastily tied up the scarecrow in his hands, jumped into the sorghum field, mimicking his father Jack's tone, repeating sarcastically:
"I don't want them blown away by strong winds..."
"Can these damn things scare birds? Utter nonsense."
"Woof! Woof!"
Just then, the family dog, usually very docile, started barking frantically at the sorghum field.
Billy heard the noise and instinctively tiptoed to see what was happening.
Right then, in his peripheral vision, the head of the scarecrow nearby seemed to twist slightly.
Several crows were startled away.
Billy froze. Was it an illusion?
He stared at that extra scarecrow, puzzled. He never remembered tying a scarecrow here. Was it his brother's prank?
With a hint of doubt and unease, Billy reached out to push aside the sorghum and slowly approached that extra scarecrow.
As he got closer, he realized this scarecrow's style was completely different from the cheap ones at home, which only had a few cloth strips.
It looked... too real.
Like someone tied up there.
The scarecrow was wrapped from head to toe in a black coat, wearing a black cowboy hat on its head.
The noon sun shone on the brim, its face shrouded in shadow, unclear.
"Where did this come from?"
Billy stopped nearby, examining the scarecrow.
Usually, to save effort, the scarecrows at home wore very simple clothing, just stuffed with dry grass and stuck with a stick for appearance.
But this one...
Billy slowly looked downward and his pupils contracted.
What was exposed beneath the scarecrow wasn't a wooden pole, nor any dried straw, but a pair of feet covered in black scales, with nails sharp as hooks.
It reminded him of the monsters from movies.
In the distance, the dog let out a whimper, as if frightened by something.
Billy's scalp crawled. He realized something was wrong. Instinct took over, making him turn and run, crying out loudly:
"Dad!! Brother!!"
But it was already too late.
A claw seized his head.
Outside the farmhouse, his father Jack and his eldest brother, who had been repairing the drill, had already stopped their work upon hearing their hunting dog's unusual whimper.
Upon hearing their youngest son's cry for help, they exchanged a glance, their expressions changing.
"Billy?!"
They scanned the golden field. The slender figure that had been there was gone.
"Damn it!"
Father and son rushed into the field, pushing aside the stalks, sprinting toward the direction of Billy's cries.
Strangely, however, the cries didn't get closer, nor did they stay in one place. Instead, they grew farther and farther away.
Suddenly, father Jack stopped and looked up at the sky.
Against the blinding glare of the sun, a dark shadow with massive fleshy wings shot skyward. In its grasp was Billy, already barely clinging to life.
"Billy!!!"
—--
Perhaps because it had been raining for the past two days, a thin mist hung in the air of Los Santos today.
"Be careful about who you befriend at school, and don't get too close to those boys."
Sephirot leaned against the Sampton's car, watching Patty walk toward the school, offering his advice.
"Nag, nag, nag! You're even more of an old man than Uncle Morrison."
Patty stood at the school gate, turned back, and stuck her tongue out at Sephirot.
She wore a fitted long dress today, her golden hair cascading down her back. Her youthful, pretty face combined with her innate young lady's aura made her the center of attention at the school gate the moment she appeared.
Many boys kept glancing back, and a few bold ones even whistled, wanting to approach her.
But upon seeing the stern-looking Sephirot not far away, they all backed off.
Except for one.
"Hey! Patty!"
A roar of an engine sounded as a red convertible sports car pulled up to the curb.
A boy with slicked-back hair, wearing a varsity jacket, vaulted over the car door. Twirling his keychain, he blocked Patty's path with a confident smirk.
Scott Braddock, the most persistent among Patty's many suitors.
"How about riding in my car for the trip this weekend? My dad just bought me this new model."
As he spoke, Scott sized up Sephirot with a hostile glare. "And who's this guy with the beat-up Sampton? This car looks old enough to sit at the same table as my grandpa."
"That gaudy red coat is so tasteless. Where'd you dig it up? Going to a bullfight?"
Patty's expression flattened considerably when she saw him, and she instinctively took a step to the side.
"Move, Scott. What my relationship with him is, is none of your business."
"Don't be like that, Patty..."
Scott wasn't giving up. To show off his manliness in front of his goddess, he deliberately jutted his chin toward Sephirot and loudly taunted:
"Hey old man, stay away from Patty. This isn't the kind of place for a broke old geezer like you to..."
"Focus on your studies at school, and stay away from crazy people."
Sephirot ignored the fuming Scott. He gave Patty a nod, then turned and got into the car.
Boys that age, their heads are just full of thoughts about how to get their goddess's attention by putting others down.
They don't realize that in the eyes of someone who doesn't like you, that kind of behavior is as ridiculous as a peacock in heat fanning its tail everywhere.
"You!"
Scott's face flushed red. The humiliation of being ignored made his blood boil; at his age, in the throes of adolescence, he valued his dignity more than his life.
His fists clenched until his knuckles cracked, but he was held back from throwing a punch by the inexplicable aura emanating from Sephirot.
"Last time I'm asking! The scenery along East Route 9 is really great! And there's the legendary haunted church ruins too!"
Patty walked around Scott and called out to Sephirot, "Are you really not going?"
Sephirot raised a hand and gave a lazy wave.
"Hmph! You can just stay in your empty house and rot then!"
Patty turned and stomped off angrily into the school grounds, leaving Scott standing awkwardly alone.
He watched his goddess's retreating back, then looked at the man who hadn't even deigned to glance at him properly. Under the mocking gazes of his classmates around him, he just felt his nose burning with shame.
Sephirot got into the passenger seat.
"Let's go, Uncle Morrison."
The car naturally belonged to Morrison. The Agency was doing well if it had running water and electricity every day; there was no money for buying cars.
Morrison expertly started the engine and chuckled, "Kids these days, so full of energy."
He had, of course, heard Scott's taunts earlier.
"Too young. Easy to get hurt." Sephirot adjusted the seat and reclined. "To Enzo's place."
"To Enzo's?" Morrison raised an eyebrow. "You want to redeem the Devil Arms Dante pawned?"
"Gotta collect some interest."
Sephirot said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Dante saddled me with a debt out of nowhere. What's wrong with me taking some of his weapons to use?"
Hearing this, Morrison's expression turned a bit strange. He shot Sephirot a look of sympathy and stepped on the gas.
(Translated by yourtl.app)
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TL NOTES — CROSSOVER GUIDE
The notes below are here to help readers unfamiliar with these universes follow along more easily.
SOURCE UNIVERSES
Jeepers Creepers (2001 film and sequels) — An American horror franchise centered on an ancient creature called the Creeper. Every 23rd spring, the Creeper awakens for exactly 23 days to hunt, feeding on human body parts to repair and regenerate itself: it literally eats what it needs, replacing damaged or absent organs with those harvested from its victims. It is massively strong, nearly impossible to kill, and capable of flight on large bat-like wings. Between feeding cycles it hibernates in a dormant state. The 23-year cycle, the wings, the scaled clawed feet, and the method of aerial abduction shown in this chapter are all direct markers of the Creeper. This franchise is the source universe for the creature antagonist of the current story arc.
CHARACTERS
The Creeper — The central antagonist of the Jeepers Creepers franchise, referred to in this story as "the Ogre" or "the ancient creature." Its exact origin is never established across any of the films; it is implied to have existed since before recorded human history, described in-universe as having been around "since man first walked upright, maybe before." Expanded media (comics, deleted scenes) place it as far back as the Aztec era and medieval times. It is not fully human and not fully animal: its core body appears to be an indestructible non-human organism onto which it grafts harvested human parts. It disguises itself at a distance by wearing a long coat and wide-brimmed hat, passing for human; it has also been shown using a scarecrow pose to ambush prey in open fields, consistent with the opening scene of this chapter. It selects victims based on scent and the specific body parts it currently needs, and it can sense fear in its prey.